Out: Money For Vcc Building

In: Charter School For Four Corners

Money to build a facility for housing a bachelor's degree program at Valencia Community College's Osceola County campus was part of $313 million in cuts Gov. Jeb Bush made Tuesday to the state budget.

However, Bush approved the $2.8 million legislators set aside recently to help pay for a charter elementary and middle school in Four Corners.

The two proposals topped the priority list for Osceola Legislative Effort Inc., a group of local leaders and lobbyists that had pushed several projects aimed at improving education and economic development in this county.

On Tuesday afternoon, school and government officials were quick to celebrate the charter school victory. At the same time, they scurried to take steps for better planning to secure funding during next spring's legislative session for a building at Valencia to serve University of Central Florida students.

Officials had wanted $1.2 million this year to help pay for designing and engineering the joint-use facility. About $12 million would be needed later to build it.

This is the second time the project has been turned down. Bush also vetoed the line item as part of $313 million in budget cuts last May.

Mike Horner, president of the Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber of Commerce and OLE's executive director, said the issue is scheduled for discussion at a meeting Monday among Osceola's four governments -- Kissimmee and St. Cloud city governments, as well as the School Board and Osceola County government.

"We just have to ensure next year that it doesn't get vetoed," Horner said. "Gov. Bush has a very different set of rules than any previous governor. It's a moving target each year. But we learn a little bit more each year."

The charter elementary school, which will be shared by Osceola and Lake counties, is being built now to open this fall. Local officials doubted they could move forward on the middle school portion of the two-part plan without state funding, which Bush approved as part of Florida's $51 billion budget.

Both the UCF-Valencia and the Four Corners charter project showed up as "turkeys" on a state watchdog group's report on the budget that was released Friday. Since 1983, Florida TaxWatch has been speaking out against budget items that may be worthy but are not deemed by the group as the best use of the state's resources.

A spokeswoman for Bush said Tuesday the 2000 Turkey Watch Report had little impact on Bush's decision. "The governor has a great level of respect for TaxWatch and the historical work that the organization has done," said Elizabeth Hirst of the Governor's Office. "He, however, certainly comes up with his decisions based on what he believes are worthy projects."

Hirst said Bush made the choice to veto the UCF-Valencia proposal because it did not "go through a formal criteria to ensure statewide benefit."

Meanwhile, officials involved with the Four Corners charter school proposal said they now can begin planning a middle school in the area where Osceola, Lake, Polk and Orange counties meet. They also will continue discussions with Polk County to seat some of Polk's children at the elementary and middle schools.

Such a move would relieve crowding in Polk, as well as boost chances for more state cash next year for a campus shared by three counties.

Before construction can begin, officials still must wait for a land-use change to be approved, said Stacy Miller of Haskell Educational Services. Haskell, which is based in Jacksonville, will design and build the facility. Education-management company Chancellor Academies -- formerly Cambridge Charter Schools -- will oversee day-to-day operations.

Miller said the land-use change should come by the end of August so construction can begin this fall for an August 2001 opening.